< Numbers 31 >
1 And the LORD said to Moses,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.”
“Execute the vengeance of the sons of Israel against the Midianites—afterward you are gathered to your people.”
3 So Moses told the people, “Arm some of your men for war, that they may go against the Midianites and execute the LORD’s vengeance on them.
And Moses speaks to the people, saying, “Arm men from [among] you for the war, and they are against Midian, to put the vengeance of YHWH on Midian;
4 Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.”
one thousand for a tribe—you send one thousand for a tribe, of all the tribes of Israel, to the war.”
5 So a thousand men were recruited from each tribe of Israel—twelve thousand armed for war.
And there are given out of the thousands of Israel one thousand for a tribe—twelve thousand armed ones [for] war;
6 And Moses sent the thousand from each tribe into battle, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who took with him the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling.
and Moses sends them, one thousand for a tribe, to the war; [he sent] them and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the war, with the holy vessels and the trumpets of shouting in his hand.
7 Then they waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.
And they war against Midian, as YHWH has commanded Moses, and slay every male;
8 Among the slain were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
and they have slain the kings of Midian besides their pierced ones: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba—five kings of Midian; and they have slain Balaam son of Beor with the sword.
9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods.
And the sons of Israel take the women of Midian and their infants captive; and they have plundered all their livestock, and all their substance, and all their wealth;
10 Then they burned all the cities where the Midianites had lived, as well as all their encampments,
and they have burned all their cities, with their habitations, and all their towers, with fire.
11 and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals.
And they take all the spoil and all the prey, among man and among beast;
12 They brought the captives, spoils, and plunder to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of Israel at the camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.
and they bring in the captives, and the prey, and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp, to the plains of Moab, which [are] by the Jordan, [near] Jericho.
13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.
And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, go out to meet them, to the outside of the camp,
14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who were returning from the battle.
and Moses is angry against the inspectors of the force, chiefs of the thousands, and chiefs of the hundreds, who are coming in from the warfare of battle.
15 “Have you spared all the women?” he asked them.
And Moses says to them, “Have you kept every female alive?
16 “Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.
Behold, they have been to the sons of Israel, through the word of Balaam, to cause a trespass against YHWH in the matter of Peor, and the plague is in the congregation of YHWH.
17 So now, kill all the boys, as well as every woman who has had relations with a man,
And now, slay every male among the infants, indeed, slay every woman knowing a man by the lying of a male;
18 but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man.
and all the infants among the women who have not known the lying of a male you have kept alive for yourselves.
19 All of you who have killed a person or touched the dead are to remain outside the camp for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day you are to purify both yourselves and your captives.
And you, encamp at the outside of the camp [for] seven days; any who has slain a person, and any who has come against a pierced one, cleanse yourselves on the third day and on the seventh day—you and your captives;
20 And purify every garment and leather good, everything made of goat’s hair, and every article of wood.”
and every garment, and every skin vessel, and every work of goats’ [hair], and every wooden vessel, you yourselves cleanse.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is the statute of the law which the LORD has commanded Moses:
And Eleazar the priest says to the men of war who go to battle, “This [is] the statute of the law which YHWH has commanded Moses:
22 Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—
only the gold, and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 everything that can withstand the fire—must be put through the fire, and it will be clean. But it must still be purified with the water of purification. And everything that cannot withstand the fire must pass through the water.
everything which may go into fire, you cause to pass over through fire, and it has been clean; it is surely cleansed with the water of separation; and all that may not go into fire, you cause to pass over through water;
24 On the seventh day you are to wash your clothes, and you will be clean. After that you may enter the camp.”
and you have washed your garments on the seventh day and have been clean, and afterward you come into the camp.”
25 The LORD said to Moses,
And YHWH speaks to Moses, saying,
26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the congregation are to take a count of what was captured, both of man and beast.
“Take up the sum of the prey of the captives, among man and among beast, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers of the congregation;
27 Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to battle and the rest of the congregation.
and you have halved the prey between those handling the battle, who go out to the war, and all the congregation;
28 Set aside a tribute for the LORD from what belongs to the soldiers who went into battle: one out of every five hundred, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, or sheep.
and you have raised a tribute to YHWH from the men of battle, who go out to the war, one body out of five hundred, of man, and of the herd, and of the donkeys, and of the flock;
29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as an offering to the LORD.
you take from their half and have given [it] to Eleazar the priest [as] a raised-offering of YHWH.
30 From the Israelites’ half, take one out of every fifty, whether persons, cattle, donkeys, sheep, or other animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.”
And from the sons of Israel’s half you take one possession out of fifty, of man, of the herd, of the donkeys, and of the flock, of all the livestock, and you have given them to the Levites keeping the charge of the Dwelling Place of YHWH.”
31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD had commanded Moses,
And Moses does—Eleazar the priest also—as YHWH has commanded Moses.
32 and this plunder remained from the spoils the soldiers had taken: 675,000 sheep,
And the prey, the remainder of the spoil which the people of the host have spoiled, is six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand of the flock;
and seventy-two thousand of the herd;
and sixty-one thousand donkeys;
35 and 32,000 women who had not slept with a man.
and of mankind—of the women who have not known the lying of a male—all the persons [are] thirty-two thousand.
36 This was the half portion for those who had gone to war: 337,500 sheep,
And the half, the portion of those who go out into the war, is [in] number three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred of the flock.
37 including a tribute to the LORD of 675,
And the tribute to YHWH of the sheep is six hundred seventy-five;
38 36,000 cattle, including a tribute to the LORD of 72,
and the herd [is] thirty-six thousand, and their tribute to YHWH [is] seventy-two;
39 30,500 donkeys, including a tribute to the LORD of 61,
and the donkeys [are] thirty thousand and five hundred, and their tribute to YHWH [is] sixty-one;
40 and 16,000 people, including a tribute to the LORD of 32.
and of mankind [are] sixteen thousand, and their tribute to YHWH [is] thirty-two persons.
41 Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as an offering for the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
And Moses gives the tribute—YHWH’s raised-offering—to Eleazar the priest, as YHWH has commanded Moses.
42 From the Israelites’ half, which Moses had set apart from the men who had gone to war,
And of the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses halved from the men who war—
43 this half belonged to the congregation: 337,500 sheep,
and the congregation’s half is three hundred thousand and thirty thousand [and] seven thousand and five hundred of the flock;
and thirty-six thousand of the herd;
and thirty thousand and five hundred donkeys;
and sixteen thousand of mankind—
47 From the Israelites’ half, Moses took one out of every fifty persons and animals and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him.
Moses takes from the sons of Israel’s half one possession from the fifty, of man and of beast, and gives them to the Levites keeping the charge of the Dwelling Place of YHWH, as YHWH has commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and of hundreds—approached Moses
And the inspectors whom the thousands of the host have (heads of the thousands and heads of the hundreds), draw near to Moses,
49 and said, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing.
and they say to Moses, “Your servants have taken up the sum of the men of war who [are] with us, and not a man of us has been missed;
50 So we have brought to the LORD an offering of the gold articles each man acquired—armlets, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.”
and we bring YHWH’s offering near, each of that which he has found of vessels of gold—chain, and bracelet, seal-ring, [ear]-ring, and bead—to make atonement for ourselves before YHWH.”
51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them all the articles made out of gold.
And Moses receives—Eleazar the priest also—the gold from them, every vessel of workmanship;
52 All the gold that the commanders of thousands and of hundreds presented as an offering to the LORD weighed 16,750 shekels.
and all the gold of the raised-offering which they have lifted up to YHWH is sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from heads of the thousands and from heads of the hundreds;
53 Each of the soldiers had taken plunder for himself.
(the men of the host have each taken spoil for himself);
54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds and brought it into the Tent of Meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD.
and Moses takes—Eleazar the priest also—the gold from the heads of the thousands and of the hundreds, and they bring it into the Tent of Meeting [as] a memorial for the sons of Israel before YHWH.